THE 100 BEST WAR MOVIES #69. A War (2015)

 

                        “A War” is a Danish war movie.  In Danish it is titled “Krigen”.  It was directed by Tobias Lindhoum (“April 9th”).  It was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.  It lost to “Son of Saul”, so there’s no shame there.  Some actual Danish soldiers who served in Afghanistan are in the cast.

                  The movie opens with a patrol in Helmund province in Afghanistan.  An IED kills a soldier.  His commander, Claus Pedersen (Pilou Asbaek), can do nothing to save the man as the movie intercuts to him at headquarters.  War can be very frustrating.  And the home front can be frustrating.  The movie covers Claus’ wife Maria (Tuva Novotny) as she raises three young children without her husband.  It ain’t easy.  One of them is acting out at school.   Back in Afghanistan, Claus decides to lead every patrol himself.  He is a great leader and empathetic towards his men and the civilians they encounter.  Claus tells his men that their mission is give the civilians a better life.  That’s nice, but the rules constrain him from doing everything possible for the poor people caught between the NATO forces and the Taliban.  He makes a terrible decision regarding a family asking for refuge and this starts dominoes falling.  When he leads a patrol to the family’s village, he decides to overlook the rules of engagement in order to avoid casualties like the soldier killed by the IED.  The incident results in him being accused of a war crime and sent back to Denmark for trial.  The second half of the film deals with military justice. His lawyer tells him he will have to lie and even then the evidence against him is damning.  He has to decide between telling a lie and losing his family or telling the truth and losing his honor.  And his men have to decide whether to tell the truth about the incident or support their commander.

ACTING:                      A

ACTION:                      N/A

ACCURACY:               N/A

PLOT:                           A

REALISM:                   A+

CINEMATOGRAPHY:     A

SCORE:                        not much; electronic; subtle 

BEST SCENE:  Butcher’s testimony

                        I was surprised at how good this movie is.  You would not expect a movie about Danish soldiers in Afghanistan to be one of the best movies about that conflict.  Hell, how many Americans even know that Denmark had troops in Afghanistan?  Americans need to broaden their horizons by watching more foreign war movies.  It doesn’t have to be American-made to be entertaining.  There have been movies that have dealt with war crimes in Iraq or Afghanistan, like “Battle for Haditha” and “The Mark of Cain”.   None are as good as this.  The acting is top notch.  This is the fourth time Asbaek has worked with Lindhoum.  As Claus, Asbaek is perfect as the man torn between his duty to protect his men and the rules of war.  He is also torn between his job as a soldier and his job as a husband and father.  Tuva Novotny turns in a strong performance as his wife.  It could be argued that she is the stronger of the two. The movie balances the stress of combat with the stress of raising a family by yourself.  The scenes from the home front and the combat zone have a different pace to them. The cinematography for the soldiers is all hand-held. It has an embed feel to it, similar to “Restrepo”. 

                  The movie is not a typical small unit film.  There is no dysfunction in the unit and Claus is a bit too perfect, but that probably reflects most Danish officers.  Although a Danish film, it could easily pass for an American movie and it does give Americans an accurate depiction of the confusing nature of the war in Afghanistan. It leads off with the loss of a 19-year-old on a patrol.  You have to wonder what was the purpose of the patrol. It is in daytime, so there is no chance they will run into the Taliban. If it is to reassure the villagers, they know that come dark or simply once the Danish are gone, the Taliban will be back and retaliating for any cooperation with the Danish. The movie is not meant to be a criticism of tactics in the war, but you can read between the lines and make your own judgment.   

                  The war crime could easily have happened to an American unit.  Our rules of engagement are similar.  The central question is one that American soldiers face, too.  Should the rules of engagement be overlooked in order to save soldiers’ lives?  That question hangs over the trial, even though the official answer is no.  The trial is the climax to this basic question of modern wars.  This type of trial would never have occurred in WWII and probably not in Vietnam. Ironically, when Claus adheres to the rules, it results in tragedy for a civilian family. It is unclear if the movie meant to signal that Danish officers sometimes bent the rules to protect their men, but not to protect the civilians that they were there to protect.  

                  The movie is thought provoking.  It has a “what would I have done?” vibe to it.  It does not take sides in the war.  It does not answer that central question.  It is up to you to decide if Claus did the right thing and whether you would have done the same.  Just remember for some veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan, the question that plagues them is “what should I have done?”